Ron Paul; No Longer a Non-Person?

Christopher Manion on Ron Paul in the 2 February 2012 number of The Wanderer:

In 2007, Joe Sobran observed that, “ until now, the GOP has been able to contain [ Cong. Ron] Paul by pretending he wasn’t there. But the silent treatment can no longer stifle this soft- spoken man. He has been proved right too often.” It’s seldom that the liberal media work hand in glove with the GOP establishment, but for the past five years, they’ve teamed up to keep the good doctor under wraps. But now all that has changed.

Suddenly the GOP is all smiles about Ron Paul. Pundits who scorned him or ignored him are now singing his praises. It’s a matter of necessity, compelled by fear: National Review, which has strayed far from its traditional conservative roots since Bill Buckley’s day, now offers online polls that begin, “ Apart from Ron Paul, who won the debate?” — because Paul kept winning the polls. Once a firm believer in ramming Paul down the Memory Hole, NR now reaches for its crystal ball as it struggles to explain its silence. . . . .

Why the sudden change? Unadulterated fear. Without Dr. Paul’s supporters this fall, the GOP is a dead duck. But the Tea Party is getting short shrift too, sidelined in the cat- fight that seems to be consuming the “ front runners.” Right now, alas, November is Obama’s to lose.

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